Types and Features of Social Commerce

Social commerce, which is often abbreviated to s-commerce, represents the integration of shopping and social media. Thus, this is any form of social media that contributes to the process of buying and selling products and services online. When you consider how dominant social media has been over the past few years, it is not hard to see why many deem the union of social media and shopping as a natural evolution, as social media presents a wealth of possibilities. Keeping that in mind, continue reading to discover information regarding different types of social commerce.

Social Network Driven Sales – A social network-driven sale occurs when a consumer has purchased a product
because they have been referred to the site via a social media website, such as Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. A good example of this would be the ‘shop’ tab feature that is available on Facebook.

Platforms for Peer-to-Peer Sales – Peer-to-Peer sales platforms are those that offer a community-based marketplace whereby individuals sell to one and other. This can be via an auction site, such as eBay, or individuals can upload their items at a set price for sale, like they do at ASOS marketplace.

Social Shopping – This type of social commerce is pretty self-explanatory. It relates to online shops that boast social features. For instance, there may be a chat option for individuals to exchange advice and discuss opinions. Examples of this include Fashism, Motilo, Listia, and Go Try It On.

Pick List Sites – This is a form of user-curated shopping, with prime examples being Lyst and The Fancy. These websites give users the opportunity to create and share product lists, other users will then be able to shop from the said list.

Group Buying and Daily Deals – Groupon is definitely one of the most well-known examples to illustrate this type of s-commerce with. These websites present consumers with the possibility to purchase something for a reduced rate if enough individuals agree to make the purchase.

Participatory Commerce – This can also be referred to as ‘crowd funding’ or ‘crowd sourcing’. In this instance, consumers have a hand in the production process. How? Through voting, collaboratively designing products, and funding production. Examples of participatory commerce websites include Cut On Your Bias, ModCloth, Threadless, and Kickstarter.

User Review Websites – Finally, we have peer recommendations. These relate to sales that have been driven through product or service reviews. There are other features, i.e. purchasing history features. A good example of this is Amazon’s feature where you have the ability to see what other people who purchased the same item as you have bought. In addition to this, there are incentives for sharing products or purchases via social media platforms.

To conclude, the seven different types of social commerce are as follows – user review websites, group buying and daily deals, social network driven sales, participatory commerce, pick list sites, platforms for peer-to-peer sales, and of course social shopping. Hopefully this post will have aptly showcased the vast possibilities that are present in terms of using social media to increase your levels of sales.